Greeting the Grey.

This ones for all the grey ladies out there.

I found my first grey hair. On my wedding day. Coincidence?

I'm not sure. Wake up call? Not right then, I had other things to think about.

Now - absolutely.

But not necessarily with age. Obviously, as we get older, it's a part of the natural ageing process. And I'm OK with that. And I know that some people get greys early on - much earlier than me. That's OK too.

But judging by my other family members - I don't believe it's down to age, not right now anyway. My Dad's side of the family are all very dark haired and my Chinese Grandma didn't go grey until she was much older. I remember the day I realised that she was going grey and that she was getting older. And that was a strange realisation in itself.

It's a simple, common, modern day killer. Stress.

It doesn't discriminate, but it does get you - without you even realising it.

Where does all this stress come from? A variety of factors including:

• Work
• Wedding
• Finance
• Homesickness
• Career Prospects
• Unemployment Periods
• 'The Future'

What I have come to realise is - it's not worth it. What the point in feeling the tightness in your chest of anxiety because you are overworked and underpaid? Doing yet another 12 hour day and being paid for 7, and still not getting any sleep, because work has claimed the other 12 hours of your day too.

I'm not complaining, mind you, as I have made these choices and everything has bought me up to this point - which is amazing. Moving forward, I hope that it enables me to make smarter decisions, so I am not always working harder and being able to 'let go' of all the things that you can't control.

And maybe this will help keep the greys at bay for a while, at least until I feel old and wise enough to have earnt them.

Much loves xoxo

The Wedding 'Mare.

As I sit here munching on my hot buttery raisin toast and earl grey tea, I realise that the 5 month mark has slipped by me without even realising. By 3 days to be exact.

It is this fact and the fact that I didn't realise, that makes me realise that we are on that downward roller-coaster ride to the wedding day. What also solidified this realisation was the start of the wedding nightmares.

This started happening last week - when my subliminal mind must have been trying to tell me that the countdown had begun - as I awoke in a panic realising that I had just lived out my wedding day without any head wear or ceremony decorations. To top it all off, no one ate the cake. The panic set in.

I am reluctant to subscribe to the constant countdown to the wedding day, as this can instil worry, panic, anxiety, pressure, nightmares or all of the above. The pressure that we all put ourselves under for the sake of ensuring it is the most photogenic event ever, to top cousin Bethal's $100k wedding on Hamilton Island with dolphins delivering the rings to the shore*, is getting out of hand.

However, although I am trying to be the 'cool, calm and collected' bride that I would like to be, I am not immune to the wedding nightmares.

The lists of tasks not yet completed, the decisions not yet made, the millions of ideas to sift through and discuss of yet another Pinterest board will definitely reek havoc on your sleep content.

The fact that most wedding guests don't take home their 'gift' or can't recall the flower arrangements on the tables does help to refocus our energies on areas that will actually enhance the day without spending hours or money worrying about the finest details - that will be forgotten in an instant.

I have it on good authority, and from my own experience, that guests always remember the dress, the food, the music selection, that funny moment the flower-girl farts mid-ceremony ** and whether there is a free bar or not. Sometimes the wedding cake is forgotten and left uneaten! As a lover of cake insert - Shock! Horror! here.

What I am constantly trying to remember is perspective. The reason why we are getting married and the journey that it has taken to get us both here.

Having met my gorgeous fiancé in South America, reconnecting in Australia, kidnapping him to Asia, meeting the family back home in England and then jetting off to live in Australia, we realised very early on in our relationship what we wanted our end goal to be. There were so many chances to back out and it would have been easier to do so, but we both know that we would have missed out on an incredible lifetime of happiness.

I think it is a telling sign that the hardest part of a relationship in our situation, is the situation itself, as being together is the easiest part.

So with that in mind it is now 4 months and 27 days until W-Day and I should get back to that list. Just for the record, the chocolate cake will be cut and it will be eaten in multiple slices (and that's just for me!) as nothing says "I love you" more than fabulous cake.

I am sure there will be many more wedding nightmares (like knocking over the wedding cake just like I did at my Mum and Step-dads wedding***) but if that happens, just wake up and make another hot buttery slice of raisin toast with a cup of earl grey tea - but this time, for two.


Much love xoxo


*disclaimer - I do not have any cousins, definitely none called Bethal and this is not a suggestion on how to utilise dolphins in your own wedding.

**disclaimer -This did actually happen at a friends wedding. And it was pretty funny.

***disclaimer -This also happened. Luckily the solid royal icing saved it.


Ps - Thank you for all your kind words of support for my last blog post. It is greatly appreciated and your insight has given me great inspiration for your appreciation.